FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 375, 8 June 1889, Page 5

FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

In the S\dnoy papers by the Mararoa, many columns appear descriptive of the extraordinary rains and floods that; were experienced there last week. The " Sydney Morning Herald " of Thursday last says :—: — With the exception of one or two localities on the coast lino, reports received last evening state there has been an almost absolute discontinuance of the heavy downpour of rain. In Sydney and the suburbs the fall recorded during the 13 hours preceding 10 o'clock last night -was 10 points, making a total of 20 37 inches since Friday morning. At times throughout the day there were indications ol clearing-away .showers, but, actually, the last of these fell in a diizzle shortly after 11 in the morning. In the course of last evening the wind veered to the north, an indication favourable to hne bright weather to-day. From all parts of the metropolitan and suburban districts reports state that there is a general subsidence of flood waters, and it is anticipated, providing there is no further rainfall, that in the course of the next 24 hours little but the traces of the recent abnormal high water marks will remain. It may be pointed out that 22,615 gallons, or 100 tons, of water to the acre, falls to every inch of rain recorded, which gives the total fall in Sydney, during the laining visitations, of 452,300 gallons, or

2,000 TONS PER ACRE. Throughout the downpour the tempera" ture has been almost even, owing to the fact that a sea wind has prevailed uniformly. Last night 62 5 was the record at the Observatory ; the previous night was 63 "6, and on Monday night it was 61*5. Besides the rainfalls previously reported, Mr Russell, the Government Meteorologist, has received reports from Mr Jahn, a caretul observer at ITairiield, stating that the fall there was 21 21 ; from the engineer at the gas works, Mortlake, giving the return as 22*16 in. ; from Mr Matthews, at Auburn, who reports 18*41 • from LieuJenant Goldfinch, of Dunhered, St. Mary's, near Peniith, whose return is 20*24 ; and from Mr McKenxie, of Canley Vale, who gives 18 29 as the total rainfall there.

AN UNPARALLELED VISITATION. In a leading article on the previous Tuesday the " Sydney Morning Herald " says : — " Now South Wales suffers many vicissitudes of weather. It has its droughts, its floods, its storms, but the visitation now upon us is unique — at all events it is nob paralleled by anything of which we have a record. Heavy downpours have not been infrequent, as the facts stated elsewhere show, but four days of incessant heavy rain, without any sign of a break in the clouds, is a state of things which does not seem to be matched by anything to be found in the weather reports. There have been cases in which the rainfall for a given number of hours was heavier, and we have had before now longer spells of wot weather, but the peculiarity of the present storm is that the two features are combined — the rain continues day after clay, and it is unusually heavy. How heavy it is, may be judged from the fact that from Friday morning until last night, accoiding to the record at the Observatoiy, nearly 17 inches had fallen, which is almost as much as the quantity recorded at Sydney during the whole of last year.' 1